


not so different, huh?

by ChangeTheCircumstances



Category: Watch Dogs (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family Feels, Friendship, Gen, Jordi being Jordi, M/M, Parentign is difficult in the best of circumstances, Post-Canon, What happened to Nicky and Jackson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-11 22:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19119268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChangeTheCircumstances/pseuds/ChangeTheCircumstances
Summary: When Nicky goes into hiding with Jackson, she quickly realizes she's going to need a lot before they're actually hidden from the world for good. As she tries to find a way to get the necessary fake documents for her and her son, in steps her white knight to help. Or more accurately an asshole in a white suit but she'll take what she can get at this point.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Recently finished Watch Dogs. I know. I'm like a year late but I couldn't help but imagine Nicky meeting up with Jordi and I couldn't find any fics involving Jordi/Aiden and Jordi meeting Nicky so I really wanted to do this. Anyways, obviously first fic for this game. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

Nicky hadn’t realized just how much everything would have to change when she left Chicago. At that moment, she’d just been focused on driving. On trying to figure out who she was going to go to for help.

The first night was just about getting away though. Luckily there had been some cash in the car, Nicky not having time to withdraw any or even carry her wallet out. When she’d stopped at a gas station for some food, it had made her realize that she really did have nothing. She’d been kidnapped and hadn’t had time to prepare. What she had in her hands was it.

She’d put aside some for gas later, just in case they needed it depending on wherever they were going. The rest she either saved for a room or spent on food for Jacks. Even though he said he wasn’t hungry, she got him to eat. There was a lot she couldn’t do for him, but at least she could keep him from starving.

They drove a little longer before she found a motel where they could hunker down for the night. She ended up getting into bed with her son, both snuggling close as Nicky tried to find something mindless on TV. Instead, she found the news.

Hundreds upon hundreds of video, text, emails, and pictures had been released to the public. Some kind of blackmail with many believing Aiden had something to do with it. And then, a few hours ago, the city had gone dark, just like New York a few years ago.

“He did all that?” whispered Jacks.

Nicky couldn’t lie to him. He probably already knew in his heart it was him. So she just silently nodded, hoping upon hope that whatever was happening would end soon and Aiden would make it out alive.

Jackson fell asleep not long after that, somehow. It gave Nicky a moment to start planning, to think of where they would go. They had enough money to fill up on gas but they needed a destination that they could conceivably get to sometime tomorrow. Now where to?

Nicky of course had friends. They were the first ones to come to mind, but they all lived in the Chicago area. Even if they hadn’t, were they the kind of friends to house a mother and son on the run? Were they the kind of friends to house a murderer—

No! She couldn’t think about that. She had to focus on Jackson first and foremost. She had to focus on keeping him safe. So where…where…

Ah. _Her_.

Some might have thought the decision should have been obvious. It wasn’t for Nicky though. She didn’t have any other family in America. The rest were in Ireland, not that it mattered. Even if she could have gotten over there, she hadn’t really kept in touch with them when they’d moved to America. A few required phone calls in her childhood and then nothing as they’d just grown apart. That left one person.

“Mom.”

The word had come out a hushed whisper in the dark motel room. Obviously she couldn’t stick around for long. Hers and Aiden’s mother would be the first place people would look once they realized Aiden had family. But for the moment, she just needed somewhere to lay her head. Somewhere to properly plan ahead and figure out where Jacks’ future went from here.

But god that entire conversation wasn’t going to be easy.

When Aiden had started to really get involved in…whatever he was fully involved in, that was when their relationship with their mother had grown strained. Though Aiden had never said much about his life back then, it was obvious he had gotten money from somewhere and well…

At the time, Mom had accused him of falling in line with their dad. Nicky had of course defended Aiden at the time, but maybe he…was? And what about her? She’d killed a man. How much was she like—

No. She couldn’t think of it now. The point was that the whole conversation had started the wedge between Nicky and Mom. Then when Lena had died, well Nicky had never blamed Aiden. She’d meant that. But Mom? Nicky had never cried harder than when at her _daughter’s funeral_ , Mom had grabbed Aiden by his collar and yelled, “You did this! You!” He’d left because of her. He’d missed his own niece’s _funeral_ and that had been the last straw.

Nicky hadn’t talked to her since then.

But now…

It really was the only option, even though Nicky mentally told herself she’d sleep on it. She fully laid down next to her son, went to sleep, and—

She woke up the next morning. She’d half expected to be drenched in sweat, to wake up screaming, for some horrible nightmare to not have left her. She’d expected to see that man’s face as the bullet went through his neck.

But she hadn’t. She felt…ok. Considering the circumstances. She didn’t know what to make of that feeling and instead simply felt grateful that she hadn’t woken up Jacks. She let him rest for as long as she could, refreshing herself in the shower first and then rationing out their measly food for Jacks’ breakfast.

After he woke up, she washed his hair in the sink since he said he didn’t want a full shower, and then they were back in the car and gone. As Jacks was eating his breakfast, Nicky popped the question that she’d come to last night.

“How does seeing Nanna sound? Hmm Jackson?” She tried her hardest not to show how strained her voice was at the idea.

A quick look back showed that Jacks was looking at her in confusion. When he didn’t respond right away, she was forced to look back at the road. They drove a few minutes longer until Jackson suddenly said, “I thought we weren’t talking to Nanna?”

“I…what happened between me and your grandmother shouldn’t influence your relationship with her. And besides, sometimes you have to be the bigger man in situations like this. We need…help. So…”

“So I didn’t have an option. Unlike how you phrased it,” murmured Jackson.

Nicky let out a tired sigh. “No. I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok,” he mumbled.

Nicky nodded. She looked back and saw Jacks’ nose was buried in the tablet again. She wanted to say more, to ask if he was ok. She wanted to know what had exactly happened to him while she’d been…gone. But not now. She’d ask when she could properly sit with him, and not look him in the eyes only five seconds at a time.

So with a route in mind, Nicky focused on the road instead. She let her mind go blank, just looking at the concrete and making sure she didn’t take the turns too hard. The only stop she made was at a gas station. She told Jackson, “Alright. We’ll be at Nanna’s in about three more hours. Ok? Do you need anything?”

But Jackson had just nodded, not having said anything since that morning. Nicky hugged him tight, but was forced to get into the car so they could hurry up and finish the drive today, hopefully making it to her mom’s house by nighttime. She drove and drove through the remaining few hours. All the while she mentally begged God that she’d have time to just talk to Jackson. Begged that Mom wouldn’t start anything. Not tonight.

And when they arrived, it at first seemed like her prayers had been answered. Right away Nanna had held Jackson tight. She’d sat him down at her little dinner table and had begun cooking. Nicky used that as an opportunity to sit down and talk to Jacks a little. She was grateful for that, even if a lot of progress wasn’t made. Jackson definitely understood what was going on. He was old enough to get the seriousness of everything and that he couldn’t go back to his old life. For the first time, Nicky was actually thankful that Jacks had pushed his friends away after Lena’s death. It was a horrible thought, but it was already making this transition far easier. He’d break eventually. He was just a kid. He had to. But Nicky hoped she could make it as gentle as possible and she would hug him and kiss him all the way through it.

But that breakdown didn’t happen that night. No, because as Nicky was trying to have a tender moment with her son, Mom pulled her away from him, forcing them to be alone instead after she’d set a plate full of food in front of Jackson.

“I told you!” The hushed anger was piercing and unexpected.

“Told me—”

“I’ve been watching the news for days,” Mom hissed. “The data leaks? The city wide blackout? And the latest report? There’s a lot of shit about ctOS but that one about the man half starved and stuck in an empty garage? The bullet hole in his head? That was Aiden, wasn’t it? I know it was!”

Nicky took in a deep breath. She had no way to know for sure but…was it him? The man who killed Lena? Was it over? Nicky wasn’t sure how to feel about that. She’d wanted Aiden to walk away but now…

“And now you! My beautiful baby girl! On the run because-because of that monster? We need to go to the police—”

“No! No that’s not possible.”

“Not possible? It is perfectly possible!” Mom yelled, her voice finally rising as she clearly didn’t care if Jackson heard this bit. “The precinct is only fifteen minutes away. And that nice Dr. Yolanda will surely vouch for—”

“Yolanda? How do you know her?” Nicky had never told Mom about the therapist or vice versa.

“Oh, she’s been on the news too this afternoon. She’s writing a book about your no good brother apparently. Obviously your names won’t be in it but she did mention you on—”

The rest of the words trailed off into the back of Nicky’s mind. Though she hadn’t planned to stay long, she now realized she really had to leave everything behind. Even here wouldn’t be safe. If people knew Aiden had a sister, a nephew, then they were at risk no matter what Aiden had already done to keep them safe. They needed a new identity. A _completely_ new life.

“We can’t stay.” Though she’d blocked out most of what Mom was saying, she knew she was assuming they’d stay. It just wasn’t possible though.

“Well once you get back on your feet, you could get somewhere nearby of course. I don’t see a—”

“No. We can’t stay. At all.”

The silence felt choking. Right up until the explosion. “What do you mean?! You are staying! My perfect girl just like I always knew you were! That awful husband of yours is gone, _Aiden_ is gone, we’ll finally be a perfect family! The police will help us and—”

“They can’t help me! They can’t!”

“Yes they can! You’ll see. I’ll call them now.”

Mom launched towards the landline. She had already pressed the ‘one’ button before Nicky knocked the receiver out of her hands. Nicky stood and watched as her Mom’s expression went from shocked to disgusted. Nicky hadn’t told her. She hadn’t said a word about what she’d done yet somehow Mom—

“What did you do?”

The words weren’t kind. They weren’t gentle and worried and motherly like they should have been. They didn’t make Nicky want to fall against her chest and sob out all her worries.

They made her want to run.

Nicky didn’t have Aiden’s knowledge of tech, but thankfully Mom had never been a fan of handheld phones period. And, though she was old, she didn’t have any kind of emergency button around her neck for falls or anything. As long as Nicky was quick, she could do this.

Before Mom could say another word, Nicky ripped the phone off the wall.

“What do you think—”

She shouted towards the kitchen. “Jackson! Get in the car! Lock the doors!”

“Nicole what are you doing!? Stop! Stop this now!”

Nicky ran into the next room, pulling that phone off the wall too. She did that in every room as she ran upstairs towards Mom’s bedroom. Considering how little the house had changed since last she’d been there, she would bet…

Yes! After diving under the bed, she found the wad of cash she’d been expecting. She started to run back out, only to realize that the reason Mom hadn’t followed her was because she was now guarding the bottom of the stairs.

“No! You are not taking another grandchild from me!”

“Another—”

“I see it now! You were never an innocent victim. It’s your fault Lena died. Just as much as it is Aiden’s! I bet you were working together all along. And you put your children at risk because of it? Only a monster would do something so horrible! I won’t have you destroying our name any longer! I won’t let you take Jackson!”

Maybe Nicky should have been more upset, but she was running off adrenaline at the moment. The words washed over her like water hitting oil. The mean spirited bile just didn’t stick. And, if she was honest with herself, Mom’s hatred didn’t come that much as a surprise. Not anymore.

“You’re both just like your father! You’re wrong and I won’t have my only grandchild raised by the likes of you!”

She stood there, with her slightly hunched back. Like she was actually threatening or something. And in that moment, Nicky realized something. She’d watched from protective cover as Aiden had picked off each of those guards, as he’d drawn them to possible explosives or hit them with a silenced pistol or gone up behind them and broken their necks. At the time, she’d wondered if all this death was really Aiden, but now she understood. He had done everything in his power to keep her safe. If murder was on that list of precautions, he really had no problem ticking it off.

And now it was a small box on Nicky’s list too.

She’d murdered a man in order to get back to Jackson. And if someone came trying to hurt her son? She realized with a terrifying calm that she’d do it again.

Nicky took the stairs slowly, calmly. She was half way down when she murmured, “I’m not afraid Mom, and I’m not letting anyone take my son away. Not criminals and hit men, not the police, and certainly. Not. You.”

At that half way mark, Mom finally realized that physically stopping her daughter was impossible. She ran out of the house, screaming at the top of her lungs for someone to call the police. Nicky shoved the money in her pocket and then ran to the kitchen again. She grabbed what she could from cabinets, shoved them in a bag, and rushed out the door. People were coming out of their houses. There was a good chance someone had already picked up their phone.

Mom was yanking on the door handle as Jackson hid in the corner of the car. Thankfully he had locked it, just like she’d yelled. Nicky rushed to the other side and Jackson undid that lock. She shoved what food she could into it. Some of it fell on the ground but it didn’t matter. Mom had run around the side just as Nicky closed the door again, finally grabbing her daughter by her own shirt.

It was just like with Aiden at the funeral. All Mom was seeing was their father and all Nicky saw was hatred staring back.

 Considering she’d cut her off before simply for saying those things to Aiden, it somehow didn’t feel as big of a deal to do the same thing again.

Nicky pushed her off. Mom stumbled back, hitting the ground with a pained oof. Nicky didn’t pay it any mind though. She unlocked the car and got in. She hit the gas and peeled out of the driveway. Thankfully this town didn’t have any kind of ctOS scan though. Once she was out of the neighborhood, she quickly followed the speed limit, wanting to blend in as best she could with the other drivers as she headed out of town. It was doubtful Mom had memorized the license plate or type of car. Hopefully none of the neighbors had either.

Nicky looked around, double checking for cops once more before finally focusing back on Jackson. He’d picked open a bag of chips and was nibbling on them. Nicky let out a shaky breath. All that had just happened was less impactful than doing this.

“Jacks, you…you’re ok?”

“Yeah mom.”

It felt good to hear him speak rather than just nod this time. She continued. “You know…you know why I had to do it? Right? And that…that you should never push people around like that but…but we didn’t—”

“I heard what you were saying. When Nanna started screaming,” Jackson murmured, interrupting Nicky’s train of thought. “We already had to leave Uncle Aiden. I don’t want to leave you too.”

“Even though that means we can’t go back? We can’t see Nanna or go home or use the name Pearce—”

“I’m ten. Not five. I get what’s going on mom.”

His tone was just a little sulky and yet it had Nicky breathing a sigh of relief. She hated that he understood. She wished he wasn’t going through any of this. But it felt good to hear him sound like an actual, whiny pre-teen. Even if only for a second. He hadn’t sounded that childish in a while actually.

“You mean you’re not my little boy anymore?”

Jacks shook his head and wrinkled his nose at the thought.

They were at a stoplight so Nicky reached back and tickled him a bit. “Are you sure? You still look really little to me,” Nicky said. She somehow managed a half giggled, “Stop!” from her son and it was just the boost of energy Nicky needed to keep going. She’d lost her daughter. She’d left her life behind. She’d lost her Mom long ago, even if she was just now coming to terms with it. And finally she’d lost the second most important person in her life now, her brother. She wanted to believe she’d see him again but she doubted it. She doubted it so very much. And with that doubt, she knew she couldn’t lose Jackson. She wouldn’t.

“I’m pretty grown up. I think,” Jackson said.

“But not completely though.”

“I guess not.”

“Then how about you’re my little man. Hmm? I’m going to need help, starting over. Are you up for the task?”

Jacks nodded and for the first time since all this had gone down, Nicky saw some passion in her boy’s eyes. He looked happy at the prospect of helping, at finally having something to do.

As the light turned green, Nicky was forced to turn back in her seat. However, Jackson apparently had one last thing to say.

“And Mom?”

“Yeah honey?”

“I don’t mind not seeing Nanna again. She always was kind of a bitch.”

“Language Jackson!”

“Sorry.” She watched him whisper that out with a wince in the rear view mirror.

“You can’t just throw that word around,” Nicky pointedly said. “But…yes. I think I agree.”

She looked back again, one quick glance, and saw the small smile on Jack’s lips before he hid it behind the tablet. She smiled back. They could do this. They’d figure it out.

* * *

In retrospect, all those video games and crime shows seemed to come in handy. It was Jackson’s idea to put black duct tape on the license plate so as to change it without just switching to a whole new car. It was Jackson’s idea for her to cut her hair and for him to dye his so that their appearance would change, if only a little.

The ideas made sense even if they had worried Nicky a little. She’d made it a point that this all was temporary. That they’d find a way to live a normal life soon, but of course her son had to go and get super smart, responding with, “But what if someone ever does show up? We should always be ready for having to run again.”

And he was right. But Nicky would be damned if she didn’t at least try and make her next home as normal as possible.

They ended up choosing a random space to go to. They hadn’t been to that town, much less the state, but that meant less people would look for them there, if they ever did. So to South Carolina they went, and with it, a new life.

A story was formed. There own little cover up. A fake, abusive ex-boyfriend was created that they were running from. A new name was made. They were Nicole and Jackson Baker. A nice, normal name with no Irish heritage. Jackson was growing, already shedding the image that police might have had of him. And Nicky was growing her brown hair out again, keeping it a little shorter, and had added unnecessary glasses to her features.

The small town they’d chosen all knew about their fake past. They’d taken them in quickly because of it, only too happy to help a runaway mother and her son. JD let her work under the table at his gas station, she paid minimal rent with the widower Mrs. Jenkins, and there was an old teacher who homeschooled the five other children in the town, everyone else having long since grown up or moved out. It wasn’t exactly the schooling Nicky would have liked for Jackson, but all in all, they were incredibly lucky with their find.

They had a place to live, got a new car and sold the stolen one for scraps, had multiple cloths again, food. It was all looking on the up after the first few weeks.

It was then that she finally got to really have the heart to heart with Jackson that she’d wanted. However, he hadn’t broken down like she’d expected. Not once had she had to go into his room at night because she’d heard him crying.

And she asked him about that, once they felt comfortable and it seemed like they’d be staying for a while.

“You know it’s ok to feel sad. Right? That you can cry about everything that’s happened?”

“Yeah,” Jackson mumbled. He’d started to act a bit more like a kid again and sounded like one now. He clearly just wanted to get the conversation over with so he could go out and play with one of the neighborhood’s kids. If that was one good thing about all this, Jackson wasn’t on his tablet as often anymore.

“I just want to make sure you’re ok.

Jackson shrugged. “It hasn’t been that hard.”

“Really now? Is it because it’s like we’re undercover? We’re spies?”

“No.” The deadpanned remark and Jackson’s face had Nicky suddenly being reminded of Aiden. It hurt a lot but it also made her smile a little.

“No?”

“It’s just how it is,” he murmured with another shrug. “I’m just happy I’m with you. Besides, after seeing Uncle Aiden take down a bunch of bad guys, changing our names and stuff isn’t that bad.”

Nicky froze. “Is that…is that what happened while I was gone?” she whispered.

Jacks looked a little shameful at that. “It wasn’t Uncle’s fault!” he quickly said. “I just wanted to help. I went looking and…and got in trouble. I saw it happen on some monitors.”

Nicky took in a deep breath. She couldn’t find it in herself to be angry at Jackson, even if the idea of him putting himself in danger terrified her even now. “That’s so sweet that you wanted to help, but I never want you to do anything like that again. Understand?”

Jackson gave a tiny nod.

Nicky also found she couldn’t be mad at Aiden either. He’d probably been horrified upon realizing Jacks had seen it all, but it had been necessary. No matter how awful it had been. “And you’re ok? After all that?”

“Yeah.” He sniffed a little. “I was a bit scared of Uncle but he just wanted me safe. And, I mean they were bad guys. They hurt you. Wanted to hurt me.” He sniffed again. “It wasn’t like with Lena.”

“Oh sweetheart.”

He resisted at first, but eventually let her hug him. “I’m ok.”

“I know. I know. My big strong, little man,” she murmured.

Jacks nodded in agreement. “Uncle Aiden just wanted to help us. I get it. Just like you.”

“Just like…me?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t…I don’t understand honey. What do you mean like me?”

“Well you killed someone. Right?”

God Nicky hated how natural that came out of Jackson’s mouth. She hated how much she couldn’t bring herself to lie and say she’d hated it. Because the easy, restful nights had only proven that it really hadn’t bothered her. For Jacks, she’d do anything. All she could say was, “How did you know?”

“You had blood on your shirt,” he replied. “And I saw it on your hands before you washed them. I just…kind of figured.”

“Sweetheart, I’m so—”

“I don’t think different of you.”

“It’s ok if you do.”

“I know. But I don’t. I still love you. Still love Uncle Aiden.” Then as if to make the point, he quickly hugged her. The former reluctance was gone as he buried his head against her shoulder. “You came back. That’s all that matters.”

And Nicky had kissed the top of his head and murmured, “I did.”

She didn’t know if his responses were ok. She didn’t know if her responses were ok. There had never been anything like this in any of the parenting books she’d read. All she could do was her best and hope it was enough.

So outside of her own parenting and getting accustomed to their new life, the next biggest issue was trying to secure proper documentation. Though they were surviving after a few weeks, they needed them if Nicky ever wanted to get a better job and start properly saving for Jackson’s future. Jackson would also need them if he went to college and for whenever he got a job. However, not only did no one in town exactly deal with those kinds of things, but after four months of living there, Nicky found a new reason to desperately need proper documentation and possibly sooner rather than later.

Despite Blume’s stance, everyone had thought ctOS would be done for good. But only four months later and not only were they announcing ctOS 2.0 but cities were already talking about implementing the program in just about every aspect of life. Though it was doubtful any such systems would find their way to their small town, it still brought a massive amount of anxiety for Nicky. How would she and her son show up on their system? What about what little, fake documents they had? They clearly weren’t official. How could she make sure she and Jacks stayed hidden if they ever went into a nearby city without having to wear masks all the time and stand in the shadows?

She’d told Aiden she was done following him. Yet now she kind of wished she had. She had no idea who to get in contact with, how much it would cost, how to tell the trust worthy people from the real con men. She was going in blind but she couldn’t risk never getting official documentation. Even if it wasn’t for ctOS 2.0, she would have needed it in order to get a better job and for Jackson.

With that in mind, Nicky took a weekend to go to Raleigh, North Carolina. It was a much bigger city than any in South Carolina. Hopefully that meant she’d find what she was looking for. It also was farther away, meaning she likely wouldn’t have to worry about seeing any of the locals from the town she’d settled in.

Other than a small over the night suitcase, Nicky took a lot of cash in a zipped pocket, and a gun. She’d gotten it from a neighbor and thankfully the request hadn’t been so crazy. As he’d said, everyone around there had at least two or three guns. She still hadn’t gone out and practiced with it though. Despite the lack of nightmares, holding the gun was a much more present reminder of what she’d done. However, taking it with her brought some small amount of comfort as she'd headed north.

She’d looked up what she could online. She knew most of the information was obviously limited. Aiden had once rambled at her for hours when he’d been going to school about all the tech stuff he needed to learn. Because of that, she knew there was a lot more underneath the publicly accessible internet. She just didn’t know how to get to it.

So with what information she had, early Saturday morning she went into the parts of town that weren’t so welcoming and started to look for help.

The first night ended with almost nothing and a lot of creepy stares that she’d sooner forget. The next night gave her a little more though. Apparently word had gotten moved around and a man she hadn’t seen before showed up next to her. She was at a bar that she’d seen recommended in a forum she’d looked through. She hadn’t thought anything would really come of it but after she figured out the man wasn’t trying to be a creep and buy her a drink, she listened to what he had to say.

They moved to a back corner so they could talk more discretely. At first he tried to sell her on some things but she quickly put her foot down and said, “I don’t need a fake ID. I need a whole new identity. For two people!” she hurriedly whispered.

“Jesus lady. What kind of shit did you get into?”

“Nothing good,” she simply said. “Please, I’m willing to pay but I can’t go halfway with any of this.”

The man’s mouth stayed in a very thin line for a while before he finally muttered, “Ah shit. You got a number?”

Nicky wasn’t sure if the guy was always so soft hearted or if it was because she was the client. Still, she hesitated. “I mean…yes but um…”

“Ok, listen. If you’re doing this, you need to get you a burner phone. Give me your hand.”

She hesitantly did. She flinched when he pulled something out of a pocket but it was only a pen. It didn’t seem to write at all though. “Invisible?”

“Damn right. All you need is a black light and make sure you don’t shower tonight. Call me at that number so we can establish the number of your burner phone. And after three exchanges, you should throw it away and get a new one. Doesn’t matter if you still have minutes on it.”

“And then you’ll call me when it’s done?”

“I need some compensation up front. I’m going to have to chat with a few friends about this. It ain’t going to be easy.”

Was he swindling her? She honestly couldn’t tell. A small part of her said to back out now, but then what? She didn’t have a second plan and she had to drive back to Jackson tomorrow morning. It was this or nothing. “Alright, how much?”

“Five hundred.”

Nicky balked.

“Like you said. This ain’t some false ID shit. I’m going to need five hundred now and I’ll give you an estimate in about a week or two.”

She hesitated again.

“I’ll tell you now, this ain’t New York or some shit. You’re not gonna find a lot more options around here unless you really go outside your comfort zone. And let me tell you, most will probably charge you more.”

He was probably right, and she couldn’t afford to risk not meeting someone else who would help her out. “Fine. Fine, here it is.”

Nicky reluctantly handed it over.

“Remember. Don’t shower or that number’s gone. Only call from a burner phone. Only use that phone three times if necessary. Got it?”

“I got it.”

“Alright. Get in contact with me soon so I know what number to call back to when I get an estimate.”

Nicky nodded. God, she hoped this turned out to be real and not some sort of scam.

She ended up getting a burner phone in a city on the way back. She called the guy back and was grateful when he actually picked up. They went over the agreement again and everything seemed to be in order. At least as much as an illegal agreement could be.

And then she got home, got back to what had become her usual routine, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

She’d told Jackson what she’d been doing when she left that day. Again, she wasn’t sure if that was good or bad parenting. However, after everything had happened, she never wanted Jackson to not know where she was or what she was doing. But because of that, Jackson could easily tell she was worried and about what.

One day when they were having dinner, Jacks asked, “Is it taking longer? About the uh…subject of your trip?”

“Yeah…yeah it seems it is.”

“Couldn’t you just call?”

“It doesn’t really work like that sweetie,” sighed Nicky. However, the thought had crossed her mind. She’d even thought about driving all the way up to Raleigh again and trying to find the guy. What if he wasn’t there? What if it was all a con and he just took desperate people’s money and left the area? Should she have asked for examples? Asked around about the guy? Would anyone have told her anything if she had?

If she had to, she could get a new burner phone. But if she did actually call, then she’d only be confirming she’d been in for the long con. She would have wasted all that money for nothing. She couldn’t quite confirm that yet so she waited a little longer.

And a little longer.

And just a little longer…

It had been twice as long as the guy had estimated he’d get in contact with her. A month had passed.  Nicky was on the edge of finally calling back, of finally accepting she’d have to start back at square one, when an odd thing happened.

Nicky was working at the gas station as usual. Jackson was doing his schoolwork with the other kids in their small town. It was normal, up until JD came out and said, “So, I don’t want to step on anything personal with you…”

“Did I do something wrong?” Nicky couldn’t think of what it could be, or how it could be personal, but it was the only guess that she could come up with.

“What? No, no! It’s uh…about that awful ex. The one that drove you here.”

Nicky tried not to show relief at that. She was supposed to be traumatized from that after all. “Right. I mean, I guess depending on what it’s about,” she said, purposefully mumbling that last bit.

“It’s just that, you never said anything about him being Chinese. Right?”

“Um, no?”

“Well that’s good. Did he have a friend though? Black hair? Goatee? I just want to make sure he didn’t send anyone looking for you.”

“Not that I can remember. He’s coming around town?”

“Yeah. Asking after you and saying he knows you through a mutual friend called Aiden?”

On the one hand, the last friend of Aiden’s Nicky had met had kidnapped her. But it was surprisingly quick that someone had found them considering they had stayed really under the radar. And though she didn’t actively search for news on Aiden, knowing that doing it would only make the time away hurt more, she could at least say there was no major fiasco that had occurred in the lasts months that screamed Aiden’s name. Or the Fox. Or really any vigilante type thing.

So the chance that somebody was looking for them as leverage against Aiden was unlikely. And Dr. Yolanda hadn’t published her book yet so interest in Aiden Pearce had continued to go down for the moment.

Nicky liked the little town. It seemed like a good place for Jackson, at least until he was a little older, and it provided the kind of security they needed until they had new identities. She couldn’t risk running from it and if this man was bad news, better to face it head on. The fact that the stranger had simply said mutual friend and not specifically said brother, also possibly signaled that the man knew they were in hiding and wanted to keep it that way.

The thought was promising and Nicky somehow managed to show off an easy smile. “Oh yeah, I know…him.” She’d almost forgotten she didn’t actually know this guy’s name. “Where is he now?”

“Bridget just told me he’s currently in the diner complaining about the food.”

“Well, he always was picky.” She had no idea if he was always picky. She was literally just guessing.

“Less picky and more just a prick from how his suit looks,” JD muttered. “Sorry, shouldn’t say that. He’s your friend.”

“And he’s still at the diner?”

“Was two minutes ago when Bridget called me. If you want to go catch up it’s fine. I’ll cover here. It sounded like he was getting ready to leave since no one wanted to give him any information.”

“Well I’ll have to tell everyone that, that was very sweet of them. Thank you. And I promise I’ll be back soon.”

“No rush. I bet it’ll be refreshing meeting up with an old friend after all you’ve been through. Take your time.”

Nicky just nodded, forced a smile, and quickly left. The town was so small that she just walked down the street rather than taking the car. This stranger must not have been in town for very long considering he probably would have run into Nicky anyways. The walk itself only took about thirteen minutes and the gas station never disappeared from view from behind.

As she came up to the diner, considering that she now knew everyone in town, it wasn’t hard spotting the stranger. The white, designer suit stood out like a sore thumb and she was pretty positive she could spot his car in the parking lot too. It was the only one that somehow didn’t have one mud splatter or rusty piece of metal on it. At the moment, the guy was apparently talking to the waitress, Bridget, though it looked more like talking at than having a real conversation. Nicky didn’t get a chance to hear what he was saying though because the moment she walked in the man spun around.

“Nicky! What’s up?”

“N-nothing much.” So was this how they were playing it? Just two old pals hanging out? She slowly approached.

“I must say I’m surprised. Here? Really? I drove through this place twice by accident. Just sneezed and zoom! Pretty sure if you can sneeze and miss it, it doesn’t count as an actual town.  This _is_ pretty low layin though. I give you that. I bet you read books here, huh? Certainly don’t have any night clubs. It’s like this is the lost colony or something.”

Nicky didn’t follow everything that the man was saying but thankfully Bridget came to the rescue. “Jordi here was just telling me about all the fun you guys had in college.”

“Yeah, college.” At least she had a name now. “Thanks for keeping him company. I uh…know how easily you get bored,” Nicky lied. “Want to go for a walk? Catch up?” They probably could have just sat in the diner but the people here definitely fell into the category of small town nosiness even with how helpful they’d been. Better to get out and away from earshot just to be safe.

“I could stretch my legs.” Jordi jumped up and slapped some money on the counter. From the look on Bridget’s face, Nicky could guess it was exact change. Still, Bridget just looked thankful that the guy was finally leaving and didn’t give them a second glance as she put the money in the cash register.

The moment they were outside, Nicky tried to speak but Jordi was already talking again.

“Jesus, I think I just lost a year off my life. If I wanted to eat a meal straight from _Castaway_ I would have just stranded myself on an island. But I guess it makes sense. Aiden would totally put his body through that shit so now I’m seeing you do it too. Of course you do! Not like you can fly out to a place of quality. Only he doesn’t like cherries so he couldn’t stay here for long. I mean only cherries. Really? You’d think it would be apples. You like cherries?”

Nicky blinked. The only information that she’d managed to obtain was that this guy knew Aiden more personally than most because he knew they were related, but again was smart enough not to mention it. And he knew Aiden hated cherries. Weird fact but ok… “You were…talking about the pie?”

“What else? Listen, I’m typically not one for this area unless I’m dropping in on Atlanta or getting rid of a government operative but I did hear there’s this great fine dining place in Charleston—”

“Is Jordi your real name?” Nicky had gotten a feeling that interrupting was the only way to actually stop the guy from talking so she quickly blurted that out with a huff.

The guy seemed to take it well though, grinning from ear to ear. “Wow, I’d say you’d have to be twins if I didn’t know you were the little sister. Though that glower really works better on Aiden sweetheart. He’s a professional at it.”

“I said—”

“Jordi Chin, professional fixer and I believe the solution to your current problems.”

“My problems?”

“Well you would be the King Cake baby for some pissed off guy or a fixer who would work for that many zeros.”

“I’m a what—”

“But lucky for you I am plucking the baby out of the cake before anyone even realizes to look at the cake. Or that it is a King Cake. Honestly, makes it a lot easier than most of my other jobs, let me tell you. There was this one time—”

“What does this have to do with Aiden?” Nicky all but growled out.

Jordi just laughed though. It was impossible to say if he was like this with everyone or just her because she was Aiden’s sister. “Nothing.”

“No-then what the hell are you doing here?”

“To fix your problems.”

“What—”

“Listen, Aiden’s been keeping an ear out. Wanted to make sure no one tried to track down his baby sister for revenge or leverage or whatever other shit they might think up. And voila! He found out that you were needing a new identity. To be fair, figured you’d need help with that sooner or later so in comes me.”

“My white knight?” Nicky sarcastically said.

“Did the white suit give it away?”

Nicky rolled her eyes.

“Oh you are so your brother! Lips aren’t as kissable though.”

“What—”

“So obviously you’ve got Jackson here because mama bear isn’t going to let go of that little kiddo. It about killed papa bear to let go of him. Partially my fault that one.”

“I’m not following—”

“Papa bear!” Jordi said as he threw his hands up in the air. He quickly dropped them. “Well, technically uncle bear. He’s fine by the way. I wasn’t going to really kill him. Well, kind of was. Half heartedly. If I was really going to kill him I would have just pulled the trigger and not given him time to mess with his phone. I’m not stupid. I know that’s his personal magic wand. Well, his other magic one.”

Nicky had frozen on the side of the street through the middle of Jordi’s little rant, and not because of the sexual innuendos. Well, maybe a little because of that. But no, had he— “You tried to kill my brother?!”

“Jesus! You’re just as quick to anger as him too,” Jordi laughed. “Don’t worry. He tried to kill me too and we’ve both done it before. Besides, that contract on his head is gone and the zeros he’s paying me to help you is never going to be topped. Unless he wants to.”

Nicky started walking again. She let out a frustrated groan. “So are you his friend or not?”

“I’m the closest thing to a friend that Aiden can have in our world. And with that friendship, I’m getting you and your son a new identity and prepping you for the big leagues.”

“If that’s true, then you know that Aiden—”

“Doesn’t want you to follow in his footsteps? That you don’t want to because you have a kid to protect? That’s exactly why you need to learn the ins and outs. At least the bare basics. As much as Aiden tried, ctOS isn’t going anywhere any time soon and with it, you’ll always be a double dipped chip. You have layers that you need to hide and I can teach you how to.”

“And Aiden asked you to do this?”

“To be fair, he actually just asked me to get the new identities for you and not even make contact. Just go through that subpar piece of shit that you met in Raleigh again so you would be none the wiser.”

“But?”

“But Aiden’s Aiden and I’m me. He knows that or else he would have had someone else do this job and for all the zeros it’s worth, I think you deserve a little extra protection too. That and it’ll be a fun side job in between others.”

“I can’t—”

“Say yes? Well it’s up to you. I’m definitely not going to force you. It’s no fun if it’s forced. Unless it’s murder. Things get weird if that’s willing.”

“Listen. I just want the new identities. That’s all,” murmured Nicky. She almost wanted to add, and to talk to her brother. If half the things Jordi was saying were true then he had to have a way to get in contact with Aiden but—

No. It would only put them all at more risk. She bowed her head and simply reiterated what she’d just said. “That’s all I need Jordi, though I thank you for your help all the same.”

“No juice huh? Well here’s my number anyways.”

Jordi held a card out to her. Nicky took it partially because she expected Jordi wouldn’t take no for an answer. But also just because there was a small part of her that didn’t fully mean no. Staying safe in the digital age would be difficult and though Aiden was laying low now, she doubted he’d lay low forever. That meant more targets on his back, and more targets on hers. No matter what her name was. No matter _where_ she was or if Aiden even knew the location.

But even with that thought, she couldn’t feel certain in saying yes. Not yet.

“You’ll think about it. I know you will. You’re definitely your brother’s sister,” grinned Jordi, like he somehow knew what was going through her head. “I’ll check you out later.” Jordi turned and started to leave.

“Hey! What about my—”

“You’ll have everything in the mail by next Thursday! Nice meeting you Nicky _Baker_!” Jordi said with a final wave as he headed back to his car.

Nicky just shook her head, honestly not knowing how to take this Jordi character. She wondered if he’d really deliver. If Aiden was actually trusting him with this, then he probably would, but that was the real question. Was Jordi actually being backed by Aiden, even with what he already knew?

For the moment, Nicky had to assume yes. It was the only thing that even slightly made sense what with all that Jordi knew and all that he claimed he could do. For the moment, Nicky just headed back to work. She wasn’t even at the gas station by the time she saw the shiny car speed by, expertly swerving around a slow moving truck before disappearing in the distance.

“I wonder if he got the driving thing from Aiden or vice versa,” Nicky sarcastically muttered to no one in particular. Or maybe they were both just terrifying drivers. Nicky could see that too.

She got back behind the counter in the gas station with a quick smile at JD. She just tried to focus and decided she’d figure out what to tell Jackson about the encounter later. Along with the rest of the town. They would try to be gentle about it but no doubt questions would start coming her way.

And one last thing! If Jordi was for real…then really Aiden? That guy? She’d only known him for five minutes but could tell he was a bigger asshole than her ex-husband—

No! No, she wasn’t thinking about this anymore. And she most definitely wasn’t taking Jordi up on his offer.

Maybe.

Probably.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to those reading this! It won't be a massively long story. Right now I'm planning about five chapters. Thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoy!

A broken leg was a pain in the ass to deal with. Jordi personally felt Aiden had overreacted but that wasn’t too surprising. The man was so wound up all the time that even a slight barb his way risked retaliation at times. Of course, that’s what made dancing around him the fun part.

Jordi had left Chicago for a few months while healing up. It had left a lot of time to think. After all, he wasn’t able to take any contracts and had handed the work of the vehicle business down. Well, to be fair he was almost never involved in the everyday work of that anyways. It was just a thing on the side that kept the cash coming when contracts were low. He’d just made sure if Aiden ever needed anything Jordi was connected with him. For one, it was fun to fuck with the guy and at the time Aiden had hired him too. It just made sense to multitask, helping Aiden if he needed a car and getting an update if the guy needed back up of any kind.

But for far too many weeks that had all been gone and it had just been thinking.

Setting up a fake suicide? Infiltrating a high security facility? Disposing of bodies at the bottom of the ocean or blowing them up with some personal cocktails? That was second nature to Jordi. It meant he didn’t have to think most of the time.

But as he’d healed from the fight on the lighthouse, thoughts had filtered through his head despite how much he’d tried to avoid them.

Well when stuck in bed and with nothing fun to read, he’d decided he might as well succumb. Jordi hadn’t spent those weeks going over contract information or reading his target’s intel. Instead he’d spent those weeks planning something else, something more personal which ironically wasn’t for himself.

Good old Pearce really didn’t know how much Jordi took care of him. The thought made him laugh.

So a couple of months passed and Jordi healed and planned. There was a part of him that had been getting antsy due to his limited movement. However, unlike Aiden, Jordi actually cared about his physical form and wasn’t going to risk further damaging himself before he knew he was completely healed for good.

But once he was healthy, well it was time to get back to work! He of course still had that little passion project to worry about but he didn’t mind multitasking. While the documents were getting made, Jordi took up a quick contract in DC. Though he wasn’t a massive fan of the East Coast besides New York or Atlanta, there was never a shortage of contracts in the DC area.

It had been a while since he’d taken up one that required a more close quarter’s style. The contractor had been very specific about how he wanted the death to look and besides, the target apparently never left work anyways.

In this case, the contractor had done a lot of the work for Jordi as to how he was getting in. Getting out would be his prerogative depending on how things went, but as of now, he at least knew he was walking in through the front doors. The contractor had tried to explain that this was all for some big promotion that he wanted or whatever, but Jordi had shut him up. He didn’t give two shits why. As long as the money was wired, they were all good. If it wasn’t though…

His reputation could now answer that what-if scenario pretty well. If Jordi backed out for whatever reason, if the contract went up in smokes before the job happened, fair game. But if he did the job and didn’t get paid as promised? Well, then he’d be damned sure that he’d get his compensation.

Thankfully this contractor followed that line of thought and gave him a signing bonus just for taking the contract. How sweet.

Jordi spent the next couple of days getting set up. He wouldn’t be taking his rifle in. Way to obvious and not necessary for this contract’s requirements. Instead, he obtained a military issued pistol that was necessary to make this whole thing look realistic. The target would be dead before she even realized it was missing anyways. He next got a new jacket. One that looked exactly like his usual white ones but with a special, heavier lining. As for the badge that would allow him to walk right in, it was provided by the contractor. With that pinned to his lapel, it was time for the fun.

He waltzed into the government compound as a special visitor. The cameras identified him as that. He would have had to do a little extra trickery if ctOS had been implemented but for now, the American government hadn’t made a deal with Blume. That would likely change soon but Jordi would cross that bridge when he had to.

For the moment, he strutted past the metal detectors. Not a single, irregular sound went off. Jordi smiled at the guard with ease and the man nodded back. He was probably just thankful he didn’t have to do another pat down to some moron who’d forgotten his phone was in his pocket or some shit.

There was a woman in the front lobby who asked if he needed help after seeing the visitor badge. However, Jordi just needed to throw on the charm, not that it ever actually went off, and he went on his merry way. The only slightly challenging part was that there were no blueprints of the place. It meant Jordi just had some instructions like left, right, right again. He wasn’t really following them though. They were pretty poorly written and if there hadn’t been so many zeros on his paycheck, Jordi probably would have dropped the job for the guy’s horrid grammar and spelling alone.

So instead of heading straight to his destination, he took his time. He listened in on conversations, mentally marking anything that might be interesting later on, and tried to decide what he’d have for dinner. He didn’t really interact with anyone though. Not until he caught sight of a familiar, low positioned cap and slightly ratty jacket.

Jordi’s smile widened and he went straight for him. He hadn’t planned this meeting. Doing something like that would have been a little insane, even for him. However, he sure as hell was going to take advantage of it. Jordi came up from behind, but before he could say anything, Aiden said, “I thought that contract had gotten cancelled.”

“Let me guess,” Jordi replied as he spotted the phone that was almost always in Aiden’s hand. “You spied me through one of their little cameras.”

“Your cologne actually,” Aiden dryly muttered as he turned around.

“Well it is the one you said you liked.”

Aiden’s eyes rolled harder than a bowling ball hitting a strike. “I said the one I could tolerate.”

Jordi let out a low whistle. “So alike.”

“Like who?” Aiden said it in such an accusatory manner that Jordi just grinned harder.

“Oh, just an old friend.”

Aiden knew it was a lie. Jordi could tell, but Aiden also clearly didn’t give two shits. Jordi didn’t mind though. It honestly just made the whole situation more hilarious.

“What the hell are you even doing here?”

“Same as you. Just better.”

“That doesn’t even make any sense. I’m—”

“What you’re doing is lying low and trying to sneak your way through here. And doing a terrible job about it. I mean you don’t even have a badge.”

“I don’t need one. I hacked my way through—”

But before Aiden could finish the thought, Jordi carefully slipped a badge from an employee who was walking by. He pinned it to Aiden before he could argue.

Aiden snatched the badge from Jordi but didn’t actually detach it. He looked at the name upside down. “Mariana Cortez?”

“Anyone ever tell you, you look like a Mariana?”

Aiden let out a large groan and tried to walk past. Jordi just fell in step with him.

“I’m trying to do a fucking job here.”

“What a coincidence! So am I.”

Aiden gave him a, “No shit,” kind of look, before turning away and quickening his pace. “Well unless it involves Jacquelyn Smith, go do your own shit.”

Jordi didn’t say anything. Not because he was that shocked. Of course they would have this kind of chance encounter. No, he stayed silent because it was more amusing to watch Aiden flounder when he realized Jordi had no intention of leaving his side.

“Wait, you—” Aiden stopped talking, eyes darting to an official group of people that were hogging up the entire hallway. They looked like they sat at the top of the hierarchy here unlike the cannon fonder they’d been walking by. Someone amongst them probably had most of their employees memorized and would definitely take note of them. Thankfully, Aiden acted quickly, though if he hadn’t, Jordi would have. It was just more fun letting Aiden lead every now and again.

Aiden dragged them both around the corner and took out his phone. He hit a few buttons and the keycard lock suddenly glowed green. They both slipped into what looked like a board room of some type as the people outside walked by, none the wiser.

“Not bad. I think—”

“Are you still trying to kill me? You never did answer me.”

“Well technically you didn’t ask a question. But yes, the contract was cancelled.”

“Then how the hell do you know who I’m going after?”

“I honestly didn’t. I’m going after them for a contract of my own. Are you, or is this part of your little crusade?” asked Jordi.

“This woman has been using her military and government positions to sell off armed weapons to anyone who can afford her price. She’s who Lucky Quinn used to work with and who Iraq got all his weapons from.”

“Personal it is. Heard you’ve been taking on plenty of contracts though. I always knew you’d be good at it.”

Jordi noted that Aiden didn’t actually grimace at that. Certainly not like the last time Jordi had suggested it to him. Aiden knew he was good at it now. He wasn’t denying that. Sure, there were probably some contracts that Aiden wouldn’t take because of his moral compass. To be fair, there were a select few Jordi wouldn’t either. Though his moral compass was likely too complex for anyone to figure which contracts that would be. Either way, it made Jordi pretty happy and he said, “But you wouldn’t mind me killing her then.”

“I need information from her Jordi!”

“That’s surprising. Couldn’t hack your way through?”

“She kept all transactions on paper or through words alone.” Aiden actually looked a little sulky at that. It was hard not to laugh. “Do you realize how few people keep their shit on paper these days!?”

“You weren’t prepared for that, were you?”

Aiden just glared.

“Well don’t you worry. I’ll let you question her and then I can kill her. Fine with you?”

“Working together again? Really?”

“What? That last time was just business! Besides, it was a half hearted attempt.”

The funny part was that Jordi could tell Aiden had already figured that out. Jordi did enjoy a little flair but he never put that over his work. He hadn’t even needed to reveal himself at the lighthouse. He could have just killed Aiden and gone. Because of that, Aiden’s shoulders just slumped a little and he let out a long sigh. “Ok, fine. I guess we’re working together.”

“Great! So obviously you’re hacked into everything. Do you know if she’s in her office?”

Aiden glanced at his phone for a few seconds. “She’s still there.”

“Let’s hurry up then before someone really does notice you’re not a Mariana.”

Aiden rolled his eyes again and Jordi followed him out of the room. It didn’t take long to actually get to the office now that they were making a beeline towards it. When they got there, Aiden raised his phone up but Jordi grabbed his hand and forced it down.

“We can’t leave a trace that anyone entered this room besides her.”

“It’s just an all access key.”

“Which means anyone could have used it to get in.”

Aiden let out a grumble, something along the lines of, “Making things too complicated.” However, he turned away and waited. He’d been turning the cameras expertly so that way neither of them were ever captured on video. None of the cameras in this hallway could see them and when there was no one there, Jordi finally went up to the door and knocked.

Smith answered after a moment, Aiden carefully out of her line of sight.

“Corker sent me,” Jordi said, saying the line that his contractor had said should get him in. In retrospect, it might have something to do with her illegal arms dealing, but Jordi didn’t actually care to find out.

“Of course. Please, come in.”

She moved aside and Jordi walked in. Before the door automatically closed though, Aiden slipped in and both of their weapons were drawn. It didn’t give her time to fight, which was good because a fight would have been hard to clean up in the short timeframe they had. Jordi pushed his gun to the front of her skull and started forcing her back until she was sat in her chair. “We have a couple of questions and would be oh so grateful if you answered them.”

“I have the questions,” grumbled Aiden. He didn’t take long though, launching into what he wanted to know. Clearly Jacquelyn Smith was taking this as a good sign though. She probably thought they had bought her product and were unhappy with some middleman. She thought she was still in control.

Jordi let Aiden continue taking the lead. Annoying him now would just make this whole thing take longer and they were on a limited time frame if they didn’t want to be noticed.

“You get what you need?” Jordi asked when the conversation between Smith and Aiden finally slowed.

“Yes.”

“Terrific. Then I guess we’re all done here.”

Smith relaxed in her chair. That was when Jordi pounced. Before she could get up or grab at anything, he wrapped his arms around her, using that to pin her to the chair. The slight struggle she did manage though knocked the gun from Jordi’s hands so he quickly changed to using his free hand to cover her mouth and keep her scream from getting out.

“A little help?”

Aiden looked at Jordi holding a woman trapped against her chair with a hand on her mouth as her muffled screams started to come. The look Aiden gave was exasperated and for a split second, it honestly looked like he might just leave. Which if that happened, oh well. Jordi would figure it out. He’d been in worse situations.

But Aiden didn’t leave. Instead, he sarcastically asked, “Am I getting a cut then?”

“Think of it as a favor for old time’s sakes.”

“Old time’s sake would be me coming after you with a gun, and then you throwing me over the edge of a lighthouse.”

“It’s a date then. We can set a time later. Same place though?”

Aiden rolled his eyes but at least went and picked up the gun in his gloved hand. He could tell what Jordi was doing and forced the gun into the woman’s right hand, leaving her prints there. Jordi then let go of the woman’s mouth so he could force her to keep her hand on the gun. The split second that Jordi wasn’t covering her mouth, Smith screamed, “I have connec—”

But before she could finish the sentence, Jordi had her blow out her own brains. Almost all the spatter hit the wall above Jordi. He stood up and let Smith naturally fall forward, the gun hitting the ground.

“You’ve got blood in your hair.”

Jordi stood up and sauntered on over as he ran a hand through his hair. A small bit of blood got on his fingers and he immediately wiped it on Aiden’s cheek.

“What the fuck Jordi!?”

“Guess we’re both going to have to shower.”

“Oh, I forgot. Body disposals get you horny.”

“Do you have anywhere to be?”

“Yeah. Atlantic City so I can kill a bunch of arms dealers.”

“Who won’t be there until the end of the week. You have time,” smirked Jordi. He wrapped his arm around Aiden and dragged him out of the room. Thankfully it looked like the woman’s office had been pretty soundproof. No one noticed anything as Jordi started to walk back towards the front door with Aiden forced right beside him. Aiden looked a little comfortable at the idea, clearly wanting to go down whatever route he’d planned as he quickly wiped the blood from his cheek. He didn’t bolt though and Jordi was able to say, “I’ll pay for dinner. My second apology for trying to kill you.”

“Second?”

“I gave you Maurice, didn’t I?”

“That was an apology?”

“Well it helped you move on. Didn’t it? No better apology than that!”

Aiden let out a tired sigh that said it totally had.

“I’m glad since I’m guessing you couldn’t get it from Lucky Quinn with him dying from a heart attack and all.”

“Oh, no. That was…eye opening,” Aiden admitted. “I caused the heart attack.”

“Jesus, what a fucking way to go. I like the symbolism though. He took your heart. You took his. A beautiful ending really. Besides the fact that the geriatric man totally pissed himself afterwards.”

“He was behind glass. Couldn’t smell it. Now can we please stop talking about this? You said dinner and I’m not letting you ruin my appetite so you can get out of that promise.”

“I would never!” Jordi said with mock offense.

Aiden just threw him another glare. “So where are we going? You realize I’d just settle for pizza.”

“And do you realize how much you disgust me sometimes? No! There’s this great Ethiopian place. Stays up pretty late. We’ll go there after we shower.”

“What even is Ethiopian food?”

“ _Aiden_ , I am going to blow your mind.”

“Is that a promise?”

Now he was getting into the spirit of things. “Only if you return the favor.”

“Yeah, we’ll fucking see about it.”

“Oh, we sure _fucking_ will.”

“That is not how I meant it.”

“Oh don’t deny it. We both know it was.”

And then they easily walked out of the building with the night planned out ahead of them.

* * *

Just as promised, Thursday came with the documents Jordi had promised. Only something had come with it.

Nicky walked out her front door at hearing a car screech to a stop. She could see Jordi had already jumped out of his car, a different one from before, and was leaning against the side of it. He was even in the same, or at least a really similar, white suit. Only the shirt underneath it was really different.

“I thought you said they’d arrive in the mail.”

“They are.”

“Everyone ever tell you, you’re a bit full of yourself?”

“Only all the time.”

Nicky let out a little groan and walked by him to get to the mailbox. She grabbed the stacks inside. The mail hadn’t officially come yet which meant Jordi had shoved them in before she’d walked out. What a show off. She pulled out the envelopes and glanced back at Jordi. Being closer now, her eyes couldn’t help but focus to a spot on top of Jordi’s collar that definitely hadn’t been there just a week ago.

“Want to know how I got it?”

“Not even a little,” Nicky grumbled.

“What a shame. It’s a pretty fun story. Involves a suicide, arms dealing, and Ethiopian food.”

Nicky had no idea whether or not to take him seriously. She started to walk back towards her home and Jordi followed.

“Is there something else?” she asked without turning around.

“Oh, nothing specific. I’m just curious what you told the others.”

“The others?” Nicky walked into her house, not bothering to hold the door open. She thought of trying to keep Jordi out but she clearly didn’t have the strength to do so. Better to deal with him and get him out quickly. Thankfully, Jacks had slept over at the house of one of his new friends. They walked into the kitchen.

“Food, just for me? You shouldn’t have!”

The guy had to know that she hadn’t actually made it for him. Right? It wasn’t like she could have known he was coming. Still, she decided not to waste time explaining that it had been for Jackson, only for his friend’s mom to call and ask if he could stay until lunch that day.

“Wow, it’s like walking back ten years. Jesus, how do you live like this? The decorum is horrendous.” Jordi sat down. He kicked the chair to the right of him out from under the table and put his feet up. Nicky didn’t hesitate to kick the chair out farther causing Jordi’s legs to hit the ground with a thud. “I see you learned your manners from your brother.”

Nicky just let out another tired sigh. She could tell whatever this was, was probably going to take a while. “Would you like something to drink?”

“I take it you can’t make a daiquiri. Water will do.”

“Water will do,” Nicky mumbled in a horrible impression. She went to the fridge to grab it and said louder, “So the others?”

“Other who? Who’s here?”

“You asked who I asked? Which I still have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh! That! Yes, I was referring to the town. Since there apparently hasn’t been a woman dumped in plastic wrap on some gravel shore with dopy cops crying over her, I’m assuming you’re still the talk of the town.”

“If that happened, I’d assume it was you.”

“I was actually referencing a TV show but I will take the compliment,” Jordi smirked. He took the glass of water Nicky offered before scooting the chair back and putting his feet up again. “Though that does make me curious. You certainly know what I’m capable of and yet you let me in here.”

“Well trying to stop you wouldn’t have worked. You’re stronger than me. And apparently you’re doing this on behalf of my brother so I doubt in whatever contract you guys have it includes wrapping us in plastic,” sighed Nicky. God she couldn’t believe that she was having this conversation and acting like it was a normal one at that. “But as for the town, I reiterated that we knew each other in college. And I told them you were a lawyer helping me get official paperwork.”

“Not a bad lie. And Jackson?”

“The truth,” Nicky slowly said. She finished making herself a plate. She didn’t bother to make Jordi one. If he really wanted to, he could make it himself. She walked back over, kicked the chair out from under his legs again, and sat down. “I don’t hide anything from him. Considering we really have no idea what could happen tomorrow, he needs to be ready for anything.”

“Can’t argue with that. I started earlier myself.”

Nicky frowned. “Earlier—”

“So are you satisfied with the results?”

Nicky quickly picked up the envelopes again. Anything to get this conversation over with. She opened the first one up and started to pull out the papers. New social security cards, a driver’s license for Nicky, passports, credit cards, and…

“A diploma?”

“Congratulations. You graduated with Masters in Literacy Studies from the University of Nevada. All of little Jackson Baker’s school records are in there too. Last places of employment. Few other little knickknacks to help prove that Nicole Baker was always a real person.”

“Jordi, this is…it’s too…”

“Actually it’s the right amount if we’re talking starting over. Trust me. I’ve done it a couple of times. Though it will change when ctOS 2.0 really gets going.”

“It will?”

“I imagine that your missing images will be put into the system as wanted fugitives. Obviously by the time that happens, you’ll have changed appearances a bit but there’s no telling if the system will be able to detect if it’s you or not. You’ll probably need to hire someone else to completely scratch any record of you from ctOS but that’s still at least a year down the road. For now, what you have will do.”

“You really mean that?”

“I do.”

“It’s just still…” Nicky stopped. She took a deep breath. Suddenly everything that she’d hoped to be able to do for Jackson, it was suddenly possible again. “Thank you.”

She finally looked up and was surprised she didn’t catch a smirk, a grin. Jordi looked thoughtful, like he was remembering something else other than what was in front of him. “It’s what Aiden wanted. You’ll be safer from here on out.” Now the smirk came back. “But I can still teach you some tools of the trade if you like.”

“I don’t know…”

He held up his hands. “Well, the offer still stands. Until next time.”

And then suddenly Jordi was standing up again and Nicky was blinking in shock. “You didn’t just come here for this. Did you?”

“Why not?”

“Be…because you don’t know us? Because this shouldn’t even matter to you.”

“Well you’re right. It doesn’t. But you’re a fun distraction.”

“Glad to know our destroyed lives bring you so much joy,” grumbled Nicky.

“Not destroyed. New ones. I just gave them to you,” grinned Jordi. “I’ll see you around.”

Nicky’s mouth dropped open again. She quickly jumped up, still not fully believing Jordi was just leaving now. And he actually didn’t. But that was only because Jackson had just run right into him. Nicky tensed and Jacks froze. She had told him about Jordi and it was clear he recognized the man from her descriptions right away.

“Hey kiddo. Your transcripts are on the table right over there. I’d suggest giving them a good look over so you remember which schools you went to and where you lived.”

Jacks’ face wrinkled up as he frowned at Jordi.

“Huh, not much of a talker this one. Jordi Chin,” he added, holding out his hand.

Jacks slowly took it and gave it a little shake. “So…you know my uncle?”

“I help him out from time to time. Get him new cars. Annoy the hell out of him. The usual,” Jordi said with a large grin.

Jacks didn’t show any sign of being impressed by Jordi’s theatrical way of talking though. Instead he simply asked, “And do you know…if he misses us?”

Nicky’s heart broke at the way Jackson asked that. Her eyes also darted towards Jordi. Professional fixer, assassin, murderer, whatever he was, it didn’t matter. If he said anything cruel at all to Jackson then so help her God—

“He doesn’t ever talk about you.”

Nicky’s hands curled up into fists, anger immediately filling her up because of what Jordi had said. But it also mixed with a horrible feeling of doubt and pain at the possibility that Jordi meant it. However, before she could grab him and yell at him for being so cruel, Jordi added, “If he did, I’m pretty sure he’d start bawling and he is not one for tears! I’m sure you know that.”

“So he doesn’t talk about us…because it hurts?”

Jordi nodded. “The more he thinks about you, the more he’s going to want to see you again. But he wants you both safe and safe means him being as far away as possible.”

Jacks gave a small nod. “I get it,” he mumbled. “But could you…could you tell him I love him? That I’ll always miss him?”

“I don’t know when I’ll see him next. Schedules can be really busy at times. Especially since politician season is coming up—”

Nicky made a small noise in the back of her throat and Jordi seemed to finally look down and notice Jackson’s downcast face.

Jordi reigned it in, something which Nicky was grateful for. Even if she was also surprised that Jordi had that ability at all. “But I’ll see what I can do. I know he’d like to hear from you.”

“Thanks,” Jacks murmured, perking up just a little. He glanced back at Nicky. “I was just um…coming to grab one of the comic books Max borrowed. I forgot to bring it over last night…”

“Go ahead sweetheart. I didn’t mean to keep you.” Nicky kissed him on the head as he hurried on by. Her eyes then found Jordi’s again.

“Giving me that classic Pearce glare? I get it.”

“Do you?”

“I get I’m not exactly the most comforting. But don’t worry. I’m not going to break the heart of my best friend’s nephew.”

“Ah. Has Aiden upgraded to best friend now?”

“Best friend, target, pain in my ass in all meanings of the word. That’s what he is,” smirked Jordi. “Either way, I help him out. Even if he doesn’t realize he needs it.”

Nicky unexpectedly laughed at that. At Jordi’s curious look, she explained, “You could say that’s what you did for us. Helped me in a way that I didn’t know I fully needed. Or could possibly ever get on my own.”

“Maybe I should put that on a new business card then. Chemicals expert, body disposal, and full time Pearce Family babysitter.”

“Funny.”

“I know right? I’m such a riot.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“No. You completely did. And you’re welcome for this wonderful little chat. Call me when you need my help again.”

“Who says I will?”

“I do. And I’m always right. Say bye to the kid for me Nicky.”

And like that, Jordi Chin was gone again. Somehow he was even more of an enigma than when Nicky had last seen him. She could hear the sound of his tires pealing out of her drive way as Jackson finally poked his head back in to see if the guy was gone.

“Is he really Uncle Aiden’s friend?”

Nicky let out a small sigh. “I know. It’s hard to believe Aiden can be in a room with him without throwing a punch.”

Jackson nodded in agreement. He walked over to the table, comic in hand. He paused to look at the documents, picking up his new birth certificate. “He’s really strange. But I think he’s ok.”

“Yeah?” Nicky walked over and put her hand on his shoulder, pulling him into a half hug.

“He seems genuine. He did a lot of work with all this too.”

Nicky nodded. “He did. Didn’t he? Still, I’d like you to tell me if he ever shows up when I’m not around. He’s exactly the kind of type that probably has his own secret agendas, no matter how helpful he seems.”

“Yes Mom.”

Nicky kissed him on his head again. “Have fun over at Max’s house. I’ll see you for lunch. Ok?”

Jacks nodded and quickly headed out the door. Nicky sat down, ready to finish breakfast and planning to put their new life in some semblance of order.

 

 

* * *

A few weeks had passed and Aiden had effectively taken out the arms dealers. He wasn’t naïve of course. Others would filter in eventually. Guns would find their way onto the streets and into children’s hands and some new group would organize. But if his work left places a little safer for a few weeks? A couple of months? It was still worth it in Aiden’s mind.

He’d left Chicago because of this particular job, but now that he was done with it, he really felt free. He could go wherever he wanted to now. The old memories finally could be pushed to the back of his mind.

There had been reminders of too many things in Chicago after everything that had gone down. Nicky and Jacks, fucking Damien, Clara…

With Clara, he wished he’d had the chance to talk to her. So much felt like it had been left unsaid. The guilt she must have felt up until the end? The anger and confusion of the entire thing that Aiden hadn’t fully dealt with until it was too late? It was frustrating that the relationship had ended before Aiden and her could hash things out.

He wasn’t naïve of course. Even now he doubted they could have stayed partners for long. She’d been part of DedSec after all and Aiden had pretty effectively thrown his middle finger to them. He didn’t really question that decision though. Even if he’d known ctOS 2.0 would be built, he probably would have done it again. One small shadow group? Basically in charge of the entire system? It didn’t matter how good the intentions were. Power and greed could corrupt anyone. Aiden had seen it.

Which brought Aiden’s mind to Damien. Why hadn’t he pushed him away sooner? Why hadn’t he realized his attitude and greed would become a problem down the line? If he was being honest with himself, it was because he’d kept believing that Damien would listen to him. That he trusted him. That they were partners. Damien had mentored him. That had to have mattered for something.

Until it just didn’t.

Why couldn’t Aiden have just dealt with a normal nine to five job like everyone else? Why couldn’t he have fit into society? Why had he let Damien pull him into the work and why had Aiden only allowed himself to fall down farther?

Mom would have said it was because of his Dad. God, he hadn’t thought on that in a while. He wasn’t sick like him though. Aiden was fully aware of what he was doing. His choices were rational ones, whether it was taking a contract or tracking down illegal dealings.

But then, he supposed Dad had thought himself rational too.

For the first time in well over two years now, Aiden thought about calling Mom. Had she really expected this life for him? How much did she hate him for what he’d done to Nicky? To Jacks? God, to Lena? He could ask her if she knew where Nicky was—

No. That was too risky. And anyways, there was a chance that Nicky had never gone to Mom anyways. She’d also cut her off pretty harshly and if Aiden was being honest, he’d gotten over any anger or disappointment as to how he’d ended things with their Mom. He had no reason to bring up that part of his past. But Nicky…

He couldn’t be near her. He’d chosen a life that had pushed away everything. She had Jacks to raise and take care of. If Aiden ever entered her life again, then they’d both be in danger. All he had were their memories. Just like how he only had memories of Lena now. At least those memories made the goodbyes a little easier.

And then suddenly Aiden’s phone rang. He let out a small groan. So much for thinking through his personal problems and then drifting off to sleep. He rolled over and picked it up. It was pretty hard to get in touch with him directly which meant there was a very limited list of who the caller could be.

“So how did the arms dealers go.”

Aiden rolled his eyes. Well, he almost had no one. Apparently a near assassination attempt was only reason enough to become closer friends. “With a bang,” Aiden sarcastically replied. “Why are you calling?”

“Just checking in.”

“Checking in? I’m not your ward Jordi.”

“You don’t realize how much I do for you Pearce.”

“Like what? Complicating my job? Putting blood on my God damn cheek?”

“Like reminding you that you’re allowed to have some _fun_ ,” Jordi said with a laugh. “If you ever need someone to watch your back, don’t hesitate to call.”

“Who else would I call?”

“Exactly. Who else?”

And like that, the call was over. Aiden just stared blankly at the phone for a hard few seconds before bursting into laughter. Jesus, Jordi was kind of right? Wasn’t he? Aiden would likely call him rather than risking working with some stranger. Hopefully any needed partnerships though were far away in the future. With another roll of his eyes, Aiden put his phone to the side and rolled over again to go to sleep.

* * *

Nicky was planning things so that way Jackson and her would likely leave the little town by the end of the year. She was thankful that her son had gotten a little schooling here, that he had friends, but he needed to be enrolled in a real school and she needed a real job that could support him.

Thanks to the documents, she’d been able to work towards that. She’d gotten phone plans in her new name, and all her credit card information and banking items was sorted. Now she could focus on looking at possible places to live. For the moment, she was trying to keep the possibilities in state, not wanting to go too far from the small town. Jacks had already been uprooted so much and he’d really taken a liking to their current home. Nicky especially liked how much he played outside now rather than pressing his nose to some screen. She didn’t want to take that away from him.

Some of the places she had in mind she visited with Jackson. Since he hadn’t had a choice before, she wanted to give him as much of a choice now. However, she also didn’t want to put him on the road all the time. Like in this instance, Jacks was on a fishing trip with JD and two of the other kids in the town while Nicky drove through Charleston. She’d just make sure to take lots of pictures to show him later.

As the street signs flew by, Nicky briefly remembered Jordi’s comment about a fine dining place in the area, not that Nicky would ever want to go to a place like that for lunch. She hadn’t heard from Jordi since he dropped off the documents. It seemed that if he ever entered her life again, then it would have to be Nicky who initiated the call. Personally, she was still dead set on never needing to call and at this point, only the worst case scenario could cause that.

Her whole day was planned in Charleston and she likely wouldn’t be back until sometime after ten that night. Once she got there, she drove around for a bit to just get used to the area. She went to an appointment for one of the schools in the area at eleven and then even went to an open house. Nothing was definite at the moment, but she’d looked up a couple of jobs. It was highly unlikely most of those jobs would be open by the time they moved here, if they did at all. However, it was good to get her name out there either way.

She’d been doing some research into the degree that Jordi had gotten her. She hadn’t been awful at writing in high school or the few times she’d been required to in college. She enjoyed writing and hopefully would be able to keep up in a job that required it constantly. Thankfully just having a degree, and a Masters nonetheless, made her more likely to be chosen in most interviews, even if her degree ended up not perfectly lining up with the possible job.

Nicky enjoyed her time being in the city. It obviously wasn’t any Chicago but now that she had the opportunity to move to this kind of area again, she couldn’t help but be excited for the prospects. The noises and smells and bustles of people. Not all of it was great, but it was familiar and helped Nicky to relax.

She ended up having dinner before one late job meeting and one late house appointment that she’d made. After she finished eating, Nicky made sure her instructions were right for the next several stops. She cleaned up her table, pocketed her phone, and headed to the restroom. She went in, freshened up, and started to head out again.

The restaurant that she was in had two entrances. There was the front door and then the one for behind the strip of buildings. It was through that back door that a figure walked in behind Nicky. Before she could walk back into the main lobby, the figure grabbed her and dragged her back.

The momentary shock quickly disappeared. Fear and adrenaline took over as Nicky attempted to scream and kick as much as she could. But no one was in the back alley to hear. She struggled harder, only for a painful punch to make her almost completely immobile. She wasn’t out though. She could still feel herself getting pulled into a car. She heard a door slamming hard.

Lights flashed by.

Her head was spinning.

She tried to talk, but only felt another painful hit to her head. Someone was talking to her but who?

She shifted and moved and tried to open her eyes. They were moving quickly. Moving somewhere.

As her vision started to come back, she noted a sudden change in the lights around her. They’d driven inside something. A different kind of motor started. A large door moved down. A garage then? She felt herself being dragged out of the car, thrown to the side. What was this about? It could only really be one thing.

“A-Aiden?”

“Oh don’t worry. You’ll see your brother soon and then it’ll all be over.”

Whatever this guy had planned, she needed to somehow buy time. What did he want? Nicky tried to take a guess. “The…the money. I can—”

“What? Pay off the contract yourself?” The figure laughed. “Doubtful. And even if you could? Bagging the Fox is going to make my reputation sky rocket.”

Nicky was slowly starting to understand what this was all about. Clearly this person was after Aiden. Somehow he’d found her and was planning on using her for leverage. Probably to get Aiden out of hiding, push him into a trap. And if this person had found her, then Jacks—

Her head lolled around. She needed a weapon. The guy hadn’t tied her down. Either he thought he’d hit her hard enough, or he just didn’t think much of her ability to fight back. Maybe both. But to his credit, there wasn’t just some gun lying around. She needed something else. What-there! A flashlight. She tried to push off the chair she’d been thrown in. She hit the ground hard.

“Oh really? The Fox will be pissed enough I have you. Don’t go doing anything stupid like giving yourself a black eye.” The guy came closer. He roughly grabbed her and pulled her back to her feet.

And then she swung the flashlight into his head.

“Oh you bitch!”

Nicky hit him again. Then she tried to run but he grabbed her leg. She hit the ground hard, her face smacking the concrete. She could feel blood and tears welling up from the likely broken nose.

“I can’t kill you. He’ll be harder to catch if he has no reason to be careful. But don’t think you can get away with anything!”

“Ahh!”

Nicky screamed as she got dragged back. She kicked hard, momentarily getting reprieve from the hands on her. Then she felt cold metal touch her neck.

“Shut up and stay still damn it. Once I’ve got the Fox, I honestly have no interest in you. You can even go back to your son if you just stop struggling!”

He knew about Jackson. He had to know where he was too if he’d tracked her down. Nicky could play along, but there was no guarantee the man had meant what he said. But the thing about needing her alive? That she could believe, for now. If he wanted Aiden, he’d keep her breathing. That meant he couldn’t kill her. That meant the gun on the back of her neck was an empty threat.

She hit him hard. He cursed loud and the gun skittered across the floor. She darted for it as quickly as she could. She felt the guy grab her just as her hand wrapped around the gun.

“Fine! You don’t want to play along?! Then I’ll bring your fucking kid here! Will you finally fucking listen when I—”

That was all Nicky needed to hear as she fired the gun. The first shot missed.

“You bi—”

And then she unloaded the clip into him.

She desperately breathed in. Again and again and again and—

She was fine. And because she was fine, Jackson would be fine too. There was so much more blood than last time. There was even a hole in the guy’s cheek that she could see all the blood bubbling out. Yet it wasn’t anywhere near as shocking as the first one.

Jackson would be fine. That’s what mattered. That’s what kept her calm despite how she felt like she should be screaming. But she wasn’t. She felt…ok.

She looked around. She couldn’t hear any immediate sounds of people screaming. Of sirens. So what to do? Just leave? No. Eventually someone would find this along with her hair and fingerprints everywhere. So what to—

Oh god.

It worried her how easy it was to pull out her phone. But even with her new identity, the fear of the cops was still there. And if this happened once…if it happened again…

She hit the saved number. She wiped at the tears on her face. Tears that were there because of her nose, not because of the body on the floor. The second body. A second life that she’d taken. Her throat closed up—

But a second time that Jackson was safe, that she knew she could get back to him. She was ok.

“Hello?”

Finally he answered. Nicky opened her mouth, knowing that she was going to have to eat her own words from before. But then a thought came to her. A horrible thought that she definitely couldn’t put above Jordi.

“Listen, I haven’t got all day so if—”

“Did you send him?”

“Nicky! What a pleasant surprise. You sound a little stuffy though. Got a cold? What are you—”

“Did. You. Send. Him.” Each word stilted, harsh. It made her sound like Aiden had when she’d overheard him threatening Damien all those months ago.

There was a moment of silence and honestly, that was more comforting than immediate denial. She stayed silent until Jordi finally said, “I did not. Where is he now?”

“D-dead.”

“And any partners?”

“Not that I know of.”

“That’s good. Now where are you?”

Where was she? That was a good question. “Um…hold on.” She pulled her phone back and quickly checked her GPS location. Still no sounds of anyone coming. No sirens. It was looking more and more like she was in the clear.

She read the address out to Jordi. At least she was still in Charleston.

“Alright. It’ll take me about six hours to get there. I’m heading to the airport now.”

“What should I do?”

“Well we need to make sure that no one else is using the residence you’re in. We also need to make sure no one finds the body. Scope out the place as best you can. Call me if anything seems off. Otherwise, I’ll be there soon.”

“Thank you,” Nicky whispered.

“Of course. I promised I’d help and I’m here to help. I’ll see you soon.”

Nicky nodded. She hung up and then carefully breathed in a few more times. She wished she could call Aiden. It wasn’t even that she needed a shoulder to cry on. She honestly wanted his advice. What was it like for him? Did he cry? Freeze? Or was he so sure in his purpose that the action didn’t matter? She wished she knew, but for the moment, all she had was Jordi. He’d be here soon to help her, but until then…

She called Jackson.

“Mom, is something going on?”

Nicky wiped at her eyes. She wished that every unexpected phone call didn’t fill Jacks with anxiety. Or her for that matter. But that was the world they lived in now. She cleared her nose a bit before speaking. “Hey sweetie. I’m probably not going to get back until tomorrow. Is that ok.”

“Yeah. I can just stay over at Max’s house.”

“Yes, yes that works perfectly.”

“But Mom. Are you—”

“I’ll explain it when I get home. But…it looks like I needed to ask for his help after all.”

Jacks caught on immediately. “Are you ok?” He whispered it. So afraid. So careful.

Nicky looked to the body again. The blood was still spreading. “I am. Honest. I’ll see you tomorrow. Alright? Night Jacks.”

“Night Mom.”

Nicky made a kissing sound before hanging up the phone. She then carefully picked up the gun and started to do what Jordi had told her to.


End file.
